As Autumn Leaves by Kate Sands Page A

Ernie who lent them part of his drum kit to do the beating heart part. We had permission from Mr. March for that bit of help. Apparently it took way longer than they expected—they thought, like, an hour, but it took four. Then Chantelle needed a couple days to find time to edit it, but she sent me the file yesterday and I’ve been listening to it any chance I get. It’s pretty awesome!”
    “That’s good, honey.” She sounded unusually flat and reserved, the conversation unlike the usual bubbly after-school ones they had.
    Kayla gave her an odd look. “Mom, what’s up?”
    She crossed her arms and frowned, the usual foreshadow of an impending lecture that Kayla couldn’t help but sigh in frustration. “Oh, no. I don’t have time to get yelled at tonight.”
    “You’re not getting yelled at,” her mom said, shaking her head. “What makes you think you are?”
    Kayla waved her hand absently. “You have your I’m-Going-To-Yell-At-You look.”
    “I’m not. But I do have some questions.”
    “No, I’m not rejoining cheerleading.” The microwave dinged, and Kayla got a spoon and carefully removed the soup bowl.
    “It’s not about that.” She followed Kayla to the dining room table.
    “Wow,” Kayla said. “Then I have no idea what’s going on.”
    “Neither do I. What is going on between you and that Ritter girl?”
    “Excuse me?” She tried to remain nonchalant, and blew on the soup to cool it off before putting the spoon in her mouth. When her mother struggled with her next words, Kayla went ahead. “Let me guess. Hearing more rumors at boosters?”
    “Perhaps. I heard your ex-boyfriend Jason has a three-day in-school suspension.”
    Kayla snorted. “Not long enough.” She had more soup. “He’s an idiot. He used homophobic language toward a teacher.”
    “And to you and that Ritter girl.”
    “Althea, Mom. Her name is Althea. And not that Althea girl, either.”
    “All right, I’m sorry. Althea. She lives in this building, doesn’t she? I think I’ve seen her around.”
    “Yes, with her dad and her brother. I think her mom passed away a couple years ago, but she doesn’t talk about it much.”
    Her mother looked sympathetic for a moment, but her face steeled in a way that meant she wasn’t about to be deterred from the topic at hand. “And she’s….”
    “What, Mom? In my grade? A fantastic volleyball player? My class project partner? The answer is yes to all of the above.”
    “Do not take that tone with me. I’m only trying to find out some information here.”
    “Then ask it!”
    “Is she a lesbian?”
    After the outburst, the silence hung heavy between them. Kayla promised Althea she would keep her mouth shut, and while she hated lying to her mother, sidestepping the topic was probably the right course of action.
    Besides, the concerned looked on her mother’s face made anger on Althea’s behalf flare in Kayla’s stomach. And it caused worry and doubt to cross her mind too.
    “If she was, it would be no business of yours,” Kayla said snippily.
    “It is if she’s corrupting my daughter—”
    “Oh my God!” Kayla said, throwing her hands up in the air in disgust. “Do you hear yourself? I can’t believe you said that, I can’t! I dated a dickbag teenage boy and you should’ve been worried then, but I become friends with a nice girl my age, and you’re worried about corruption? Seriously?”
    Her mom looked vaguely guilty. “I didn’t mean it like—”
    “I’m not hungry,” Kayla said, pushing the bowl of soup away. “I need to get going anyway.”
    “I’m not done here!”
    “Well, I am.” Kayla got up from the table. “What does the sexual orientation of the people I’m friends with matter anyway?”
    “So you’re friends? Just friends?”
    Kayla turned on her heel to face her mother again. Her face burned like it was on fire, but she couldn’t stop the next words from tumbling from her mouth. “Mom. I don’t like touching my own private